Planned water outages are sometimes needed to keep safe, reliable, and delicious drinking water flowing throughout Salt Lake City’s water system. Planned outages are scheduled in advance and allow Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) crews to perform regular maintenance and to make repairs. Planned outages can also occur when installing new connections, upgrading, or otherwise adding to our system. Salt Lake City Code 17.16.270 provides SLCDPU the authority to shutoff the water for “repairing, laying or relaying mains, hydrants or other connections, or for any other reason whatsoever.”
When planning water outages, we work to minimize the impact to community members. We plan outages for time periods that are most productive to our work schedule and when we can complete the work and restore service as quickly as possible. That being said, we understand that water outages will impact our community members to some extent.
Here are a few things you can expect from SLCDPU when a water outage is planned in your area:
- A door hanger will be delivered to your home at least two days prior to the scheduled start of the outage. This door hanger will include the date, start time, and planned duration of the outage. It will also include a phone number you can call with questions or concerns.
- If you live in a multi-family building or apartment, SLCDPU will notify the building manager of the upcoming outage. If we are able, SLCDPU will also place door hangers in the building’s lobby where tenants can see them. Please note that we are unable to deliver door hangers to individual building units.
- We will coordinate with businesses and schools to prepare for planned outages. This helps us to determine a time that is convenient to the work being done as well as to the regular activity that happens in the area. We may be able to plan water outages and related work at night or when businesses or schools are closed.
When you’ve been notified of an upcoming water outage, there are some preparations you can make to minimize the inconvenience. For more details about creating and storing water for emergency use, visit the Centers for Disease Control website.
| Water Storage: Store water in food-safe containers and keep them in a cool, dark place. | Bottled Water: If you’re using bottled water, do not store packages directly on concrete floors. | How much water: Store 1 gallon of water per person, per day. | Hand Sanitizer: Use hand sanitizer instead of soap to stretch your stored water supply during an outage. |
| Rain Barrels: Consider using a rain barrel to collect rain water which can be used for landscape watering or other non-potable (non-drinking) water needs. | Sealed Containers: When storing your water long-term, use sealed containers so contaminants don’t enter the water. | Laundry: Do laundry before planned outages. | Bathtubs & Sinks: Storing water in bathtubs or sinks is a great option for short-term, planned water outages. You can use this water for washing and flushing the toilet. |
| Water Heater: In a pinch, you can extract water from your water heater and use this water for non-potable (non-drinking) water needs. | Toilet paper absorbs water: During an outage, discard used toilet paper in the trash. Flushing toilet paper requires more water and may lead to clogs in your system during an outage. | Flush toilets with a bucket of water: Pour water from a bucket directly into the toilet tank to efficiently flush the toilet during an outage. | Cleaning without soap & water: Before an outage, stock up on disinfecting wipes to use for cleaning instead of soap and water. |
When water service is restored following an outage, you may notice some discoloration in your water. In this case, discolored water should be temporary and results from internal rust and sediment being stirred up after an outage. This is because the work that was done may have disturbed the direction or flow of water in the system.
The discolorations in your water should clear naturally. Try running cold water only for about 5 minutes to see if the discoloration clears. If not, you might consider allowing the water to sit for 1-2 hours and then try running cold water only for another 5 minutes. This works best in your bathtub or shower. If your water remains discolored after these two tests, please call us at 801-483-6700 to report the issue.
Here are some tips if your water is discolored after an outage:
- Avoid running hot water until the discoloration clears.
- Wait to do laundry until the water is free of discoloration.
Ready.Gov provides more tips to help you prepare for planned water outages or to create emergency water storage.